Improved method of curing burns and scalds



LEONARD MAXWELL,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF MITOHEL, INDIANA.

IMPROVED METHOD OF CURING BURNS AND SCALDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,570, dated February 28, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEONARD MAXWELL, of Mitchel, in the county of Lawrence and State of Indiana, have invented a certain Process for Curing Burns and Scalds, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in a process by which an artificial surface is supplied to the parts burned or scalded, by which the air is excluded from the injured parts, the pain instantly allayed, and a speedy and thorough cure effected.

The process by which the objects of my invention are obtained is as follows: As soon as the injury has occurred, whether it be from fire, flame, hot water, steam, or any similar means, 1 apply a coating'of copal varnish to the injured parts or parts, whereby the access of the air to the injured surfaces is prevented and nature'is allowed an opportunity of perfecting the cure. If it should happen that any blisters have been formed, the water which they contain may be let out by puncturing the skin raised up by the collection of the water and the opening immediately closed by an additional application of the varnish. In all ordinary cases a single application of the varnish will be sufficient to insure a cure; but in more severe cases another application may be advisable. In the case of burns or scalds the severe pain is caused by the action of the air upon the inflamed or exposed delicate tissues of the body, and in such cases the pain will be allayed or removed by any application which will preserve said tissues from the action of the air. This is effectually accomplished by my invention, and the artificial surlace thus supplied by the application of copal varnish to the warm flesh of the injured parts is elastic, so that the action of the muscles will not crack the varnish or cause it to peel off, and the injured parts may be handled as freely as any other part of the body without injury to the coating or pain to the patient, which latter are valuable considerations, especiallyin the case of children, as the child may be allowed to play about as freely as if no accident had happened to it. It also does away with any neces sity for bandages or other dressing, effectually guarding the injured parts from any liability to inflammation or taking cold therein from exposure.

The process of curing burns and scalds by the application of a coating of copal varnish to the burned or scalded parts ofthe body, substantially as and to the effect described.

LEONARD MAXWELL.

Witnesses:

ISAIAH DOUGHERTY, JOHN Goss, Jr. 

